QuakeCon 2017 Games Evaluation (Part 1)

Despite not being able to attend many gaming/tech conventions this year, I’m still able to slip in at least one evaluation sheet. Here, I give my honest first impressions on upcoming releases. These are not to be considered for reviews as my thoughts on these products aren’t final. My opinion might very well be different from others and that’s okay!

Lastly, will not rewrite about games or tech that have already received their first-impressions unless I have something new to say about them. Without further due, here’s my thoughts on all of the QuakeCon 2017 showcases!

Quake Champions (Developed By Id Software)

Doom 2016 was one of my favorite games of last year. So of course I would be excited to see what Id Software has planned for Quake Champions, their competitive multiplayer-focused follow-up based on one of their treasured franchises. Quake Champions is supposed to revive and expand upon Quake Live for a new generation of eSports gamers.

Playing through the demo, I was able to choose from nine Champions, all of which have their own special ability, balanced stats and distinct 90s personalities. Maps were picked at random, but there was only Team Deathmatch to play. It wasn’t long before a 4v4 match was set across these multi-tiered, close-quartered stages.

I mean it’s still Quake in the end. You are running across and platforming around these arenas, shooting down foes with a variety of crazy gunplay, in which most of them you’d have to find throughout the map. The game does allow you to spawn with one of three starter weapons, but the rest of the arsenal is up for anyone to grab.

There is no weapon inventory limit this time around, so everyone could possibly carry everything, given that death and ammunition are still a thing. It’s pure old-school competitive shooting with the right modern refinements. I enjoyed the gameplay enough to be curious of what the other classes could bring to the table, which I almost never do when playing a demo.

Every character moves much faster than the average FPS soldier, firing old-school weapons in acceleration. The gameplay is about as much as a frantic blast as Doom from last year, made better from the multiplayer perspective, just from being able to commit to being an Id Software shooter without cramming in all of the modern shooter gimmicks.

It looks visually striking, I was engaging enough to explore multiple heroes and the game is heck of a blast to play, so I don’t see what there is to be concerned about based on given experience. I guess being that there’s no single-player for Quake Champions and as far as I’m aware, no console version is happening, the multiplayer needs to be much more than a deathmatch

So far, it’s on the right track and I am very much looking forward to what it becomes at launch!

DUSK (Developed By New Blood Interactive)

This was one of the best games I’ve played that was showcased at QuakeCon last year. I was so happy to see this expert blend of mid-late 90s shooters come back with much expanded upon gameplay, an online multiplayer component and the potential release date of late fall 2017.

Playing through this again, the campaign has heightened its power by quite a bit! There’s now Half-Life like physics where you can move and throw random objects around, some of them either leading to a secret area or becoming a weapon against the increasing variations of monsters to fight. There’s a heavy emphasis on claustrophobia and exploration for item pickups or puzzle solving.

Every single element works with each other, creating a cohesive action game that’s a lovely different kind of old-school shooting. Every praise I had originally is greatly raised by how stronger the campaign has become over time so far. Contrast to this is its multiplayer, which for those who hated the idea of a new Quake having any modern elements period, this game’s multiplayer component is for you.

Nothing special is to be said with this one, it’s a Quake deathmatch featuring maps that seem like Quake knock-off maps. The developer assured that the multiplayer is still in alpha and will evolve beyond what I’ve played.

To be honest, I would not care if the multiplayer component retained its mediocrity by the time this game hits steam because its such a small part compared to what you will be getting with the campaign and survival mode. Now if those DUSK also turn out to be lame beyond what I’ve experienced, then this might as well be a miss fire, but thankfully, the demo provided more promise than fear in the end!

Bethesda VR (By Bethsda Software)

So we return to Bethesda VR once again. I gave this a second chance so I can hope there will be something that makes me go “I want to buy a virtual reality set, whether that be the HTC VIVE, Samsung Gear or PlayStation VR!”. Yet, every time I give one of these simulations a shot, I never once feel like I need to purchase a VR.

There might be a game or two out there where I thought was pretty neat to play in public, but not to the point where I would call it “the future of gaming”, especially when hardly anyone out there owns one. To a huge letdown for waiting so long in a line to play, Bethesda VR is still slapping its older games with VR controls and nothing else.

Now I will give something praiseworthy. This time, I got to play Fallout 4 VR, which was exactly Fallout 4 with VR controls. Nothing was cut back at all, just managing everything happened from shifting between the right hand that possesses your item or weapon and the left, which contains your Pip-Boy Device.

I have to praise Fallout 4 for this because Doom VR had to cut back on some of the features that made the new Doom so awesome to play in favor for an on-rails shooting gallery without being on-rails or delivering something different compared to giving a lite version of the same game for the price of buying expensive hardware.

In the end, I feel like Bethesda could make VR interesting, but they need to come up with something that you can only try or see it at its best with a virtual reality set of your choice. Right now, I’d rather play these games as they originally released and at this point, I might just forget about buying a VR set ever.

But hey, all three of these VR versions (which the other I haven’t mentioned was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) will be rolling out by the end of this year, so that’s cool…I guess…